Aldermen introduced ordinance to remove red-light, speed cameras

Red-Light, Speed Cameras Not Going Away Yet

CITY HALL — A group of aldermen failed to force a vote at Wednesday’s City Council meeting on a plan to eliminate both red-light and speed cameras by 2018.

The ordinance, introduced by Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th) in early October, has been languishing in the council’s Committee on Transportation and the Public Way since then.

Ald. John Arena (45th) tried to raise the matter directly in Wednesday’s City Council meeting. Citing public “mistrust,” he said the move to “phase out red-light and speed cameras” over the next three years “does so in a responsible way.”

Yet Ald. Edward Burke (14th) said eliminating the cameras constituted “throwing the baby out with the bath water” and called the maneuver an “affront” to Ald. Anthony Beale (9th), chairman of the Transportation Committee.

Aldermen then voted 34-14 to postpone consideration of the issue.

The 14 aldermen on the losing end of the vote were:

• Arena

• Bob Fioretti (2nd)

• Leslie Hairston (5th)

• Toni Foulkes (15th)

• Ricardo Munoz (22nd)

• Scott Waguespack (32nd)

• Nicholas Sposato (36th)

• Willie Cochran (20th)

• Michael Chandler (24th)

• Mary O’Connor (41st)

• Brendan Reilly (42nd)

• Michele Smith (43rd)

• James Cappleman (46th)

• Ameya Pawar (47th).

Sawyer was sick and absent from the meeting.

Foulkes, Cochran, O’Connor, Smith and Cappleman are all facing runoff elections on April 7.

“We were hoping we would go through the committee process,” said Brian Sleet, Sawyer’s chief of staff, before the meeting. “While were talking about these other ideas for reforming the cameras, we should discuss a realistic way to address these policies. We want to discuss it and see where our colleagues stand.”

Sleet said Sawyer’s plan is a responsible way to rid the city of the unpopular automated traffic cameras by giving the city time to find alternative streams of revenue to replace the tens of millions of dollars in fines generated every year and allow vendor contracts to expire as scheduled. The aim is to end both the red-light and speed camera programs by 2018.

Skeptical Aldermen Bob Fioretti, John Arena and Scott Waguespack discuss the vote to table the traffic-camera ordinance with Law Department attorney Jeffrey Levine (back to camera) after the meeting.View Full Caption

DNAinfo/Ted Cox

“That’s enough time to find other revenue sources. Instead of making it a political football, just let it sunset,” Sleet said.

Waguespack, who’s been highly skeptical of the red-light cameras and voted against the speed cameras, said the plan also helps the city avoid paying millions of dollars in penalties for early termination of the camera contracts.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Waguespack said. “Because it allows the camera contracts to run their course.”